Lady Cards Edge Out Grizzlies In Their First Head To Head

As will happen from time to time, two of our local teams faced off on the hardwood two times just eight days apart.  Because of the fast turnaround and the fact that the Enterprise is a weekly publication, the second game of this season’s series will have already been played before the reporting of the first.  With any luck the second game will be as exciting as the first one and we will be able to bring it back to mind in next week's edition.  As for game one this is how things played out.

Both the Cardinals and the Grizzlies entered this game very early in their seasons.  Each team came into the game with just one other game already played.  The Cardinals fell in their season opener at Bear Lake while the Grizzlies got a big win at West Side.  The two teams have started the season looking a little rusty and not quite playing up to their potential in the early stages.  As things tipped off in this one the Lady Grizzlies strike first with an early jump shot from Evie Olenslager.  From there things really slowed down on the scoreboard as both teams struggled to even get shots off let alone put any in the basket.  The next made basket would not come until the 3:20 mark of the first quarter.  The Lady Grizzlies went on to score eight total points in the first while the lid stayed on the basket for the Cardinals.

After finishing the first quarter with zero points and trailing 8-0 the Cardinals started the second quarter with a flurry of scoring going on an 8-2 run.  Abby Goodin was a spark for the Cardinals as she finished the quarter with seven points.  The hot hand of Goodin combined with an aggressive press quickly closed the gap between the two teams.  The Grizzlies got six very needed points from their bench in the second as they were able to hold the lead going into halftime with a score of 18-13.

In the third quarter the two teams were evenly matched going blow for blow for the majority of the period.  However as the quarter wound down the Lady Cardinals came with a flurry of scoring and were able to tie the game at twenty eight points a piece with very little time left on the clock.  The Lady Grizzly’s Kamryn Mansfield got a put back with just eight seconds left to give the lead back to Grace as the quarter came to a close.  Tess Jorgensen was the stand out player in the third quarter scoring eight of the Grizzlies twelve points.  Meanwhile the Lady Cardinals split their fifteen points during the third between five different players including three point shots by Courtnee Gronning, Abby Goodin, and Gracie Moldenhauer. 

Just seconds into the fourth the game was once again all knotted up.  Grace tried to pull away again but could only build a four point lead that was cut to just two at the midway point of the fourth quarter.  The Lady Grizzlies were able to cling to a slim lead for the next minute and a half when at that point the game was once again tied up.  The Cardinals really ratcheted up the pressure and the teams traded baskets.  The continued pressure caused problems for the Grizzles and with just one minute twenty seconds left in the game Soda Springs grabbed their first lead 40-38.  Following a Grace turnover the Cardinals ran the clock all the way down to fourteen seconds before Grace would foul to send Goodin to the line to shoot two foul shots.  Goodin sank both shots giving Soda Springs the four point lead.  Grace quickly moved the ball down the court but wasted valuable time getting a shot off.  Grace freshman Callie Yost got a put back off of a missed deep shot and was fouled with just two and a half seconds left. Yost missed the and one opportunity and Goodin grabbed the rebound for the Cardinals getting fouled in the process with just 1.1 seconds left on the clock.  Goodin knocked down both foul shots and the Cardinals came away with the 44-40 win on the road.

The rematch will have taken place on Tuesday in Soda Springs.  Watch for next week's edition on how that game turned out.  Goodin was the game's leading scorer with eighteen points.  Goodin was followed closely by Grace’s Tess Jorgensen who had sixteen points.

Soda Springs: A. Goodin 18, C. Gronning 5, R. Harris 2, M. Kempe 4, G. Moldenhauer 11, E. Wood 4.

Grace: T. Jorgensen 16, E. Olenslager 6, K. Stoddard 4, K. Mansfield 4, P. Steadman 6, C. Yost 4.

Soda Springs 0 13 15 16

Grace 8 10 12 10